British Benz driver sought after fatal Chiang Mai smash

[mikosan]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

It says in the body of the report that the Benz driver rear ended the pick-up. That means the Benz driver is at fault.

Far from it, people will occasionally change lane or turn into a road without looking and drive into the path and more importantly the stopping / braking distance of another vehicle which is moving faster.

If you 'steal' a moving vehicles 'braking distance' whilst driving slower there will be a crash and it will be the fault of the person who changed lane. If you're driving in a straight line it's very hard to cause an accident or even be blamed for one. Often there will be someone else who's making a turn onto a road or changing lane involved.

Here's a scenario :

Someone's driving in a straight line down a 60 MPH road doing 60 MPH, a half witted moron joins the main fast road from a small side road without looking at all and drives directly in front of the car or truck moving at 60 MPH - the guy joining the road will be destroyed but it's certainly not fault of the person driving along the road at 60 MPH merely because they were behind.

Many years ago, I worked for the claims dept. in an insurance company and its suprising how many people think that if a driver runs into the back of another car he is automatically responsible.

95% of the time this is true, but not always.

Not that this has anything to do with this driver - as its likely that he was responsible.

If 95% of the time that's correct, then 95% of the people that think that are right and that's a lot of people!! But, of course, you are right, in Thailand, if you're a farang and a Thai runs into the back of you, you are always at fault. Good point!!!!

[mikosan]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

It says in the body of the report that the Benz driver rear ended the pick-up. That means the Benz driver is at fault.

Far from it, people will occasionally change lane or turn into a road without looking and drive into the path and more importantly the stopping / braking distance of another vehicle which is moving faster.

If you 'steal' a moving vehicles 'braking distance' whilst driving slower there will be a crash and it will be the fault of the person who changed lane. If you're driving in a straight line it's very hard to cause an accident or even be blamed for one. Often there will be someone else who's making a turn onto a road or changing lane involved.

Here's a scenario :

Someone's driving in a straight line down a 60 MPH road doing 60 MPH, a half witted moron joins the main fast road from a small side road without looking at all and drives directly in front of the car or truck moving at 60 MPH - the guy joining the road will be destroyed but it's certainly not fault of the person driving along the road at 60 MPH merely because they were behind.

Occasionally being the important word here. Take it from me, the majority of rear ending's are the fault of the person doing the rear ending and I don't care what stupid scenarios you dream up. That is FACT!

[mikosan]

You make a very good point. Everyone seems to be assuming the passport holder was driving,

No everyone doesnt seem to be assuming that he was driving numerous people have said that just because his passport was in the car, that doesnt mean that he was driving the car .

You didnt read the whole thread, did you .

OMG, is that the best contribution you can make to this thread? Actually, I did read most of the thread and the majority of people at the time seemed to be assuming that the passport holder was driving. My point was quite the opposite, but you don't appear to have the intellectual capacity to grasp that do you?

[ukrules]

See fleeing the scene of a crime is not only a Thai thing Brits do it too. Need to keep a link to this page when people start bashing the Thais.

No indication in this story who was at fault.

It says in the body of the report that the Benz driver rear ended the pick-up. That means the Benz driver is at fault.

Far from it, people will occasionally change lane or turn into a road without looking and drive into the path and more importantly the stopping / braking distance of another vehicle which is moving faster.

If you 'steal' a moving vehicles 'braking distance' whilst driving slower there will be a crash and it will be the fault of the person who changed lane. If you're driving in a straight line it's very hard to cause an accident or even be blamed for one. Often there will be someone else who's making a turn onto a road or changing lane involved.

Here's a scenario :

Someone's driving in a straight line down a 60 MPH road doing 60 MPH, a half witted moron joins the main fast road from a small side road without looking at all and drives directly in front of the car or truck moving at 60 MPH - the guy joining the road will be destroyed but it's certainly not fault of the person driving along the road at 60 MPH merely because they were behind.

Occasionally being the important word here. Take it from me, the majority of rear ending's are the fault of the person doing the rear ending and I don't care what stupid scenarios you dream up. That is FACT!

So what, we're talking about one incident.

If it's 95% then that means 1 in 20 accidents are not the fault of the guy behind.

Scale this up to however many road accidents there are and work out how many 1000's of accidents this 5% represents - it's a lot and maybe one day it will be you !

[Broken Record]

My theory is the Farang has made an out of court payment to the families involved and a huge backhander to the Police, you will hear no more about the fictitious friend.

[worgeordie]

While driving in PNG,I was told if you run over and kill a pig,DO NOT stop,the

natives will kill you and your family,if you run over a person OK to stop,not

the same circumstances,so in PNG pigs are more important than people.

In Taiwan,my friend told me if you knock someone over here,you drive back

over them to make sure their dead,as the penalty for killing someone on the

road is not so bad,but if they are seriously injured you have to pay for their

care for the rest of their lives.

So wherever you drive be careful,been here so long I now feel I can tell what

the driver in front is going to do ,before he does,indicate left,turn right,that

sort of thing.

regards worgeordie

[cgphuket]

As I suspected. Driving a multi-million baht car in a country with 90% poverty indicates the person is likely filth, whatever the nationality.

[1happykamper]

That's a huge vehicle size difference.. How does a Mercedes.. Manage to flip a huge truck like that?

[elektrified]

As I suspected. Driving a multi-million baht car in a country with 90% poverty indicates the person is likely filth, whatever the nationality.

90% poverty......LOL

[Rob13]

Must be some new info about now, can't find any on the internet though.

[kaptainrob]

That's a huge vehicle size difference.. How does a Mercedes.. Manage to flip a huge truck like that?

Simple physics > inertia and weight. Merc travellng at high speed runs into and under light weight tray of pickup.

[luke000]

You make a very good point. Everyone seems to be assuming the passport holder was driving,

No everyone doesnt seem to be assuming that he was driving numerous people have said that just because his passport was in the car, that doesnt mean that he was driving the car .

You didnt read the whole thread, did you .

OMG, is that the best contribution you can make to this thread? Actually, I did read most of the thread and the majority of people at the time seemed to be assuming that the passport holder was driving. My point was quite the opposite, but you don't appear to have the intellectual capacity to grasp that do you?

If you would have read the whole thread. you would have realised that I made that before before .

[Guest]

The penalties for fleeing the scene don't seem very severe in Thailand and you are only deemed drunk, if you refuse a breath test, not if they can't find you.

I had never condoned fleeing the scene of an accident before but one thing that happened to me gave cause for reflection about this. I was once driving on a country road in farming district near Sattahip. In front of me was an old man on a motor bike who suddenly swerves in front of me to turn right into a farm track without looking. Braking as hard as I could, I still could not avoid knocking him off his bike. In the rear view mirror he was lying motionless in the middle of the road, Thinking that he was dead or badly injured and that I could perhaps drive him to hospital, knowing that villagers can't afford Thai ambulances, I immediately went back. Within seconds I was surrounded by a commotion of hostile villagers demanding large amounts of cash. After a few minutes the man was able to stand up and seemed just stunned and bruised but not badly hurt. Several aggressive young men were demanding tens of thousands of baht for medical bills and for repair of the bike but the victim didn't seem to have any injuries that needed medical attention and the only damage to the bike seemed to be a slight graze to the plastic casing of the wing mirror. It took me about half an hour to negotiate them down to 3,000 baht. It ended up just being a scenario where I had fallen into the hands of villagers as a farang windfall and to pay a ransom to get away unharmed. By the end of it I was more shaken up than the old man.

Sadly I concluded I would have been a lot better off fleeing the scene in a country where there is no rule of law.

I had a similar incident, only on a Thai "Highway" in the North East.

A Motorbike, changing a 2 lane high way road, from far left, the emergency lane to right, to reach a U-turn? so prompt no chance for me,

he got me on the side and slid back scratching the whole car on the left side, then falling off behind my car.

I saw him rolling same a fast running shot rabbit and getting to his feet with the last roll.

I thought for a moment, that he was more or less ok and that this was a high way with cars every minute again and accelerated.

Publishing the details of a crime and admitting to it.

Brilliant Alfredo ... simply brilliant.

[elgordo38]

Must be time to trot out a tray full of money and turn this into a treasure hunt. I am surprised that he has evaded our crack police force.

[useronthenet]

I bet when they find him, he will not be allowed to refuse breath test, or refuse to go to a police station.

He will get banged up straight away, no bail nothing.

He did wrong so should be punished.

Now we will see the 2 tier Thai system working.

Lets hope so, people need to learn not to flee from accidents, bail is something most people get if they have a good insurance. I got bail bond on mine. But I would not flee from an accident.

But strange your not condemning him for fleeing an accident most foreigners would do so if the guy was Thai. Are you are a Brit too by any chance and is that the reason why you don't think its bad that he runs from an accident ?

I don't care who someone is Thai Dutch, Brit.. whatever.. you just don't flee an accident.

Seems you haven't been in Thailand for long ! If a farang gets involved in an accident here, suddenly the machetes, and guns come out of the bushes within minutes. A mob then wants to linch the farang, as they are the easy target regardless who's fault it is. Two-tier justice system exists, one for Thais, the other for us. The farang is surrounded and there's no friendly faces in sight. What would you do stick around, and wait for the axe to fall ?

[ChrisKC]

For the benefit of those who believe the farang is always to blame:

I have been involved in only one incident in 13 years. I was stationary on the side of the road having stopped to use my mobile phone. After a few minutes I heard something clunk my car and felt a jolt not dissimilar from having left my car in gear and releasing the pedal. I couldn't immediately see anything but on trying to open my car door saw a motorcycle partially under my car with two young girls lying on the road, very close to the car and obviously injured (no crash helmets). This was on the Canal Road a few miles from Hang Dong so it wasn't long before a crowd gathered.

Someone called the police quickly and an ambulance (no, a songthaew) arrived as well. I learned that two Thai men had seen the incident and claimed I had turned out of a side road and the motorbike couldn't avoid me. This was an outright lie! I was lucky! A car, driven by another farang and his wife, saw what actually happened and stopped. Their evidence as witnesses, together with measurements of everything by the police exonerated us from blame! It turns out that the first rain of the season had created a very slippery road surface after many months build-up of small bits of tyre debris and oil. The motorbike had simply skidded in to the car.

One of the girls was in hospital for about ten days with head injuries but fortunately made a complete recovery. My wife and I visited the hospital a few times to show our obvious concern and this was appreciated by them! The father of one of them was all for wanting something financial from us but the Police waved him on!

Was that the end? No! two days after, we had a phone call from the Police Station to be "interviewed" When we arrived we were surprised that all they wanted was for US to sign a document that WE wouldn't sue them (the girls).

[luke000]

Heard there was an accident today near Hangdong and a Western Female died on a motorbike

[HLover]

For the benefit of those who believe the farang is always to blame:

I have been involved in only one incident in 13 years. I was stationary on the side of the road having stopped to use my mobile phone. After a few minutes I heard something clunk my car and felt a jolt not dissimilar from having left my car in gear and releasing the pedal. I couldn't immediately see anything but on trying to open my car door saw a motorcycle partially under my car with two young girls lying on the road, very close to the car and obviously injured (no crash helmets). This was on the Canal Road a few miles from Hang Dong so it wasn't long before a crowd gathered.

Someone called the police quickly and an ambulance (no, a songthaew) arrived as well. I learned that two Thai men had seen the incident and claimed I had turned out of a side road and the motorbike couldn't avoid me. This was an outright lie! I was lucky! A car, driven by another farang and his wife, saw what actually happened and stopped. Their evidence as witnesses, together with measurements of everything by the police exonerated us from blame! It turns out that the first rain of the season had created a very slippery road surface after many months build-up of small bits of tyre debris and oil. The motorbike had simply skidded in to the car.

One of the girls was in hospital for about ten days with head injuries but fortunately made a complete recovery. My wife and I visited the hospital a few times to show our obvious concern and this was appreciated by them! The father of one of them was all for wanting something financial from us but the Police waved him on!

Was that the end? No! two days after, we had a phone call from the Police Station to be "interviewed" When we arrived we were surprised that all they wanted was for US to sign a document that WE wouldn't sue them (the girls).

Good information, cheers it worked out for you.

Shame the 2 men that lied weren't dealt with accordingly.

[Puccini]

Whether the rear lights of the Pajero were on is indeed a factor to consider in this tragic accident.

Why? The Merc and the pickup are the main subjects of this accident.

You're right, I got that wrong. The rear lights of the pickup truck, the brand name and model of which are not mentioned in the news article. I mistakenly thought that the pickup was called Pajero.

[Chicog]

Time for another traditional Thai "manhunt".

I'll leave you to decide the appropriate amount of sniggering.

[ALFREDO]

That's a huge vehicle size difference.. How does a Mercedes.. Manage to flip a huge truck like that?

Weight from Mercedes, not so much different x much to high speed = the Equalizer to heavy power

And the Pick up hit from behind is easy target for flipping, behind the Pick up has little weight.

[ALFREDO]

The penalties for fleeing the scene don't seem very severe in Thailand and you are only deemed drunk, if you refuse a breath test, not if they can't find you.

I had never condoned fleeing the scene of an accident before but one thing that happened to me gave cause for reflection about this. I was once driving on a country road in farming district near Sattahip. In front of me was an old man on a motor bike who suddenly swerves in front of me to turn right into a farm track without looking. Braking as hard as I could, I still could not avoid knocking him off his bike. In the rear view mirror he was lying motionless in the middle of the road, Thinking that he was dead or badly injured and that I could perhaps drive him to hospital, knowing that villagers can't afford Thai ambulances, I immediately went back. Within seconds I was surrounded by a commotion of hostile villagers demanding large amounts of cash. After a few minutes the man was able to stand up and seemed just stunned and bruised but not badly hurt. Several aggressive young men were demanding tens of thousands of baht for medical bills and for repair of the bike but the victim didn't seem to have any injuries that needed medical attention and the only damage to the bike seemed to be a slight graze to the plastic casing of the wing mirror. It took me about half an hour to negotiate them down to 3,000 baht. It ended up just being a scenario where I had fallen into the hands of villagers as a farang windfall and to pay a ransom to get away unharmed. By the end of it I was more shaken up than the old man.

Sadly I concluded I would have been a lot better off fleeing the scene in a country where there is no rule of law.

I had a similar incident, only on a Thai "Highway" in the North East.

A Motorbike, changing a 2 lane high way road, from far left, the emergency lane to right, to reach a U-turn? so prompt no chance for me,

he got me on the side and slid back scratching the whole car on the left side, then falling off behind my car.

I saw him rolling same a fast running shot rabbit and getting to his feet with the last roll.

I thought for a moment, that he was more or less ok and that this was a high way with cars every minute again and accelerated.

Publishing the details of a crime and admitting to it.

Brilliant Alfredo ... simply brilliant.

-bangkokequity-

Let me tell you,

on some to me well known Thai crossings, at my usual ways to and from shopping, entertaining, meeting,

I drive around red lights, if you know what I mean.

And on some others,

special with Motorbike I drive threw, AFTER STOPPING and checking that there is nothing coming.

I drive nearly always to fast and overtake with bigger motorbike on all sides. Left and right.

Had my accidents, but from other reasons.

And nearly always, I pay the (cheaper) fine into the Police man's pocket and d not at an official desk.

Twice I even just jumped a checkpoint with a big bike, to avoid payment.

Bad guy, no!?

Wrote that story here on Thaivisa some years ago already at least once, maybe twice in threads.

Also in a Thai Forum in my native language.

Happened 2004 ?

You catch me now?

Think others are less fearless =

On a open Forum I read once the detailed story of a killing one Expat witnessed in a Bar,

in the deep south east of Thailand, the shooter was his Thai brother in law.

As he wrote, all was swept under the carpet, nobody saw anything. He too!

[elektrified]

The penalties for fleeing the scene don't seem very severe in Thailand and you are only deemed drunk, if you refuse a breath test, not if they can't find you.

I had never condoned fleeing the scene of an accident before but one thing that happened to me gave cause for reflection about this. I was once driving on a country road in farming district near Sattahip. In front of me was an old man on a motor bike who suddenly swerves in front of me to turn right into a farm track without looking. Braking as hard as I could, I still could not avoid knocking him off his bike. In the rear view mirror he was lying motionless in the middle of the road, Thinking that he was dead or badly injured and that I could perhaps drive him to hospital, knowing that villagers can't afford Thai ambulances, I immediately went back. Within seconds I was surrounded by a commotion of hostile villagers demanding large amounts of cash. After a few minutes the man was able to stand up and seemed just stunned and bruised but not badly hurt. Several aggressive young men were demanding tens of thousands of baht for medical bills and for repair of the bike but the victim didn't seem to have any injuries that needed medical attention and the only damage to the bike seemed to be a slight graze to the plastic casing of the wing mirror. It took me about half an hour to negotiate them down to 3,000 baht. It ended up just being a scenario where I had fallen into the hands of villagers as a farang windfall and to pay a ransom to get away unharmed. By the end of it I was more shaken up than the old man.

Sadly I concluded I would have been a lot better off fleeing the scene in a country where there is no rule of law.

I had a similar incident, only on a Thai "Highway" in the North East.

A Motorbike, changing a 2 lane high way road, from far left, the emergency lane to right, to reach a U-turn? so prompt no chance for me,

he got me on the side and slid back scratching the whole car on the left side, then falling off behind my car.

I saw him rolling same a fast running shot rabbit and getting to his feet with the last roll.

I thought for a moment, that he was more or less ok and that this was a high way with cars every minute again and accelerated.

Publishing the details of a crime and admitting to it.

Brilliant Alfredo ... simply brilliant.

-bangkokequity-

Let me tell you,

on some to me well known Thai crossings, at my usual ways to and from shopping, entertaining, meeting,

I drive around red lights, if you know what I mean.

And on some others,

special with Motorbike I drive threw, AFTER STOPPING and checking that there is nothing coming.

I drive nearly always to fast and overtake with bigger motorbike on all sides. Left and right.

Had my accidents, but from other reasons.

And nearly always, I pay the (cheaper) fine into the Police man's pocket and d not at an official desk.

Twice I even just jumped a checkpoint with a big bike, to avoid payment.

Bad guy, no!?

Wrote that story here on Thaivisa some years ago already at least once, maybe twice in threads.

Also in a Thai Forum in my native language.

Happened 2004 ?

You catch me now?

Think others are less fearless =

On a open Forum I read once the detailed story of a killing one Expat witnessed in a Bar,

in the deep south east of Thailand, the shooter was his Thai brother in law.

As he wrote, all was swept under the carpet, nobody saw anything. He too!

I hope you get deported, you loser.

[AlexRich]

I saw a You Tube video recently of a Thai family who hit someone crossing a busy road and attempted to flee the scene. Like most of the commentators on here I thought that was the wrong thing to do, you should stay and try to help if you are able to. The problem is that the family were dragged from their car and beaten to death by a mob? I don't know if that was because they fled or this would have happened whether they fled or not? Is that why someone might flee the scene of a car accident ... self preservation?

Perhaps this guy was drinking, we will never know. I suspect that he will turn himself into the Police, particularly if he were the passport holder.

[Chicog]

I saw a You Tube video recently of a Thai family who hit someone crossing a busy road and attempted to flee the scene. Like most of the commentators on here I thought that was the wrong thing to do, you should stay and try to help if you are able to. The problem is that the family were dragged from their car and beaten to death by a mob? I don't know if that was because they fled or this would have happened whether they fled or not? Is that why someone might flee the scene of a car accident ... self preservation?

Perhaps this guy was drinking, we will never know. I suspect that he will turn himself into the Police, particularly if he were the passport holder.

I say 2nd passport and a wad of cash gets him out of the country.

If he was drunk he's sober by now.

[Rob13]

I saw a You Tube video recently of a Thai family who hit someone crossing a busy road and attempted to flee the scene. Like most of the commentators on here I thought that was the wrong thing to do, you should stay and try to help if you are able to. The problem is that the family were dragged from their car and beaten to death by a mob? I don't know if that was because they fled or this would have happened whether they fled or not? Is that why someone might flee the scene of a car accident ... self preservation?

Perhaps this guy was drinking, we will never know. I suspect that he will turn himself into the Police, particularly if he were the passport holder.

deleted

[SiSePuede419]

"Had my accidents, but from other reasons."

Motorcyclists never list "dumb" as the cause of accidents.

"Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists' risk of a fatal crash is 35 times greater than a passenger car."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety

[ALFREDO]

I hope you get deported, you loser.

-elektrified-

lol

Grow some balls and get a life!

[ALFREDO]

"Had my accidents, but from other reasons."

Motorcyclists never list "dumb" as the cause of accidents.

"Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists' risk of a fatal crash is 35 times greater than a passenger car."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety

-SiSePuede419-

I drive since 40 years on 2 and 4 wheels and had my accidents with motorbikes and cars,

-dumb- was no reason for it.

A reason was sure, for most, the lack of ABS - Anti Blocking Systems on motorbikes until recently,

which could have avoided a slipping when over breaking in some shock braking situations.

From your statement, I presume, you are no fan from Motorbikes and no regular driver of one,

so a discussion is pointless,

same a discussion about sexual relationships and marriage with a catholic priest who is faithful to celibacy and abstinent to any Sexual Activity.

[katana]

Latest update from the DM

"Police in Thailand are hunting the friend of a British man whose passport was found inside the wreckage of a Mercedes Benz after the vehicle ploughed into another car, killing two women.

It's believed the friend, an Austrian national, was the driver of the vehicle and the Brit, named locally as Simon Wellings, had left his possessions inside the car.

The crash - caused when the Mercedes allegedly ran into the back of a small pick-up van - claimed the lives of two Thai women, in their 50s, who were found lying on the road."

That was in Thairath as well although they reported the friend was Australian, possibly confusing the two countries.